Social Media Is A Game Changer!

During my career working for major retail brands, I knew the value of advertising on radio and television. Also known as major media, we could see the results of our buys, almost in real time. However, I understood the cost and limitations of traditional media. Successful advertising was all about the message. A lot of money could be quickly wasted if the message was not relevant. Social media has changed the game, especially for small business. These tools allow smaller companies to leverage their marketing budget to compete on a larger stage. It gives them a voice they could not achieve through major media. They can dialog with customers and prospects in a cost effective way. It is akin to the difference between a rifle and a shotgun. I have found social media to be very helpful in building my business.

Executive search is an interesting business. I am hired by employers, my clients, to find people who want to become their employees. One could say that I am selling prospective employees, so I guess Job Seekers are my inventory. Often, candidates become clients and vice versa. Over time, I have become more productive as my industry knowledge and relationships have grown. These relationships serve to generate more contracts and to complete assignments faster. My business is not unlike any other service-sector business as success is all about building lasting relationships. I learned that building and managing a large network is a viable strategy to build my business.

Early on, I recognized the value of talking to my clients and prospects. I created a database of followers and invited people to sign up for my periodic updates. By today’s standards, it was fairly primitive. I used Microsoft Outlook to manage my list, and mail merge. It began as a collection of clients and prospects. In time, as I received more unsolicited resumes, I added job seekers to my outreach. Later, I added strategic partners. I would tell these folks about my new assignments as well as assignments I had completed. That activity generated new business and more followers. I was an early adopter of LinkedIn and became involved with Facebook and Twitter. I didn’t understand the full potential of those applications at first. However, now I am a believer. I even migrated my email marketing campaign to Constant Contact and Mail Chimp.

I learned the importance of blogging to engage prospects who needed employees, and to professionals who are interested in career advancement. The focus of my blog is on career issues facing Baby Boomers, my prospective candidate base. This is an important target audience, as they represent my primary placements. When I began blogging, social media became even more important. I began using Twitter to generate interest and to direct readers to my website. I subscribed to Hootsuite to expand my message to my followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+. I believe my experience with executive search is relevant to all small businesses. It is an effective business practice to maintain contact with customers, prospects, and prospective employees.

Now that I am building a Consulting Company, I am using the same digital marketing techniques to promote this line of business. In fact, I have adopted the social media platform I built for my executive search business to present this opportunity to my network. The results of this effort have been remarkable. I use social media to speak to prospective clients and to freelancers who may be interested in joining our company.

As I have done with my business, small companies should consider for theirs. Build a community of prospective job seekers. Last week I talked about using the company website to generate interest in employment opportunities. In the same way that one would reach out and cultivate prospective customers, companies should be talking to prospective employees to build a following. Maintain their interest in your brand for future employment opportunities. Depending on the nature of the business, prospective employees could become current customers. Social Media is an excellent way to engage these people.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed my point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is important to me so; please leave a comment.

Prior to forming New Century Dynamics in 1999, Jim Weber spent 22 years with Fortune 500 franchising companies in the Food Retailing Industry where he developed a broad-based portfolio of “hands-on” line and staff experience in growth and turnaround situations.

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Breaking News

May 23, 2018: ITB Partners Announces that we have placed one of our members as Fractional CEO for an Atlanta-based Not For Profit.

May 21, 2018: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that we have completed the CEO search for a Casual Dining Client based in the Midwest.

May 21, 2018: New Search Assignment: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that it has been contracted to find a VP Operations for a Southeastern-Based Casual Dining Chain.

April 18, 2018: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that an offer has been made, and accepted to complete the search for a CEO for a Casual Dining Client.

February 19, 2018: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that an offer has been made, and accepted to complete the search for a Corporate R&D Chef, Based in the Atlanta, GA area, for a Home Meal Replacement Start-up.

February 5, 2018: New Search Assignment: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that it has been contracted to find a CEO for a Fast Casual Restaurant Brand. Your interest and referrals are welcome.

January, 23, 2018: New Search Assignment: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that it has been contracted to find a Corporate Executive Chef, Based in the Atlanta, GA area, for a Home Meal Replacement Start-up. Your interest and referrals are welcome.

December 31, 2017: New Search Assignment: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that it has been contracted to find an Area Supervisor, Based in the Carolinas for a Legacy Pizza Chain. Your interest and referrals are welcome.

December 1, 2017: New Search Assignment: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that it has been contracted to find Operating Partners for a Legacy Pizza Chain. Your interest and referrals are welcome.

December 1, 2017: New COO Search Assignment: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces a new Search Assignment: COO for a Northeastern-based Casual Dining Brand. Your interest and referrals are welcome.

October 7: ITB Partners closed a deal to help a client get their franchised business up and running. The client signed our contract to help them develop a franchise area agreement.

April 4, 2017: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces that Offer of Employment has been accepted for Senior Accounting Manager Search assignment: Atlanta-based Manufacturer.

March 13, 2017: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces the Completion of a search for a Human Capital Manager.

March 1, 2017: New Century Dynamics Executive Search Announces a new Search Assignment: COO for a Southeastern-based Casual Dining Brand. Your interest and referrals are welcome.

January 8, 2017: New Century Dynamics Executive Search announces new assignment: Controller for a Southeastern-based Casual Dining Brand.

January 16, 2017: Bill Black Joins ITB Partners

Bill Black brings over three decades of accomplishment-laden marketing experience in the food service and retail industries, having served as a Marketing Executive for some of America’s most recognized and loved brands, including Starbucks Coffee Company, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin-Robbins and Krystal Hamburgers. Read more at: http://www.itbpartners.com/bill-black.html

November 23, 2016: New Century Dynamics Executive Search announces new assignments: Payroll-Benefits Manager – Atlanta Based Retailer; Business Development Manager; Atlanta-Based Marketing Research Company.